ON THE HOLY FATHERS

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIS IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

ON THE HOLY FATHERS
By Metropolitan Augustinos (Kantiotis) of Florina,
Greece.

“For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ,
yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have
begotten you through the gospel” [1 Corinthians 4:15].

Beloved , the word “father” is a holy word; implicit in it are many holy ideas. First, for Christians, it calls to mind the Heavenly Father, Who alone is worthy of the title in an absolute sense. For this reason the Lord said, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” [Matthew 23:19]. Further, it calls to mind all of those who in this earthly life reflect the rays of the Heavenly Father’s love. Primarily, these are fathers according to nature.

LIFE

Father! This word plucks at the most tender of man’s heartstrings. When a father has left this life and is wrapped in the glory of eternity, the simple remembrance of him proves deeply moving, bringing tears to the eyes. A father is someone to be revered; he is an instrument of Divine Providence for each and every person who has passed from non-being into being, who has seen the light of day, has come through him. None of us was born of a stone; we all have a father. Jesus alone is fatherless on earth, just as He motherless in the heavens.

O, how much each of us owes to his father! A father–and here we speak of a good father–is not satisfied with the fact that he had a share in bringing a person into this world, but rather, from the moment he bears his child’s first cry he becomes his protector since if an infant is left on its own it cannot possibly survive. Like a plant, an infant needs particular care until its small, vulnerable body grows, until he matures to the point of being able to care for himself. The progenitor thus becomes a provider as well. He labors; he wears himself out; he makes sacrifices…

“…Oh, how much children owe to their parents when they are good parents! To them–after God–they owe their very life! This is why the Decalogue, immediately after setting out our obligations toward God the Heavenly Father in the first four Commandments, places the Commandment which enjoins the honoring of parents. This is the love Commandment which contains an explicit promise to those who keep it–that God’s blessing will be with them throughout the whole of their lives. Children who honor their parents will be richly blessed: “HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER: THAT THY DAYS MAY BE LONG UPON THE LAND WHICH THE LORD THY GOD GIVETH THEE” [Exodus 20:12]. Conversely, the Mosaic Law condemns an Israelite who ill-treats his father or mother to the most extreme of punishments, that is, death by stoning. “And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death” [Exodus 21:15]…

“…Children who honor and respect their parents receive blessings, then, while those who slander and wrong their parents are cursed. History, both ancient and modern, shows us by means of many examples that displays of disrespect towards one’s ancestors do not go unpunished in this life, but also that the respectful and loving behavior of children towards their parents is not without its blessings. Therefore, you children who are fortunate enough to still have your good parents with you in this life, hear the words of the Wisdom of Sirach: “For the blessing of the father establisheth the houses of children; but the curse of the mother rooteth out foundations” [Sirach 3:9], and, “Honor thy father with thy whole heart, and forget not the sorrows of thy mother. Remember that thou wast begot of them, and how canst thou recompense them the things that they have done for thee” [Sirach 7:27-28]…

‘…Beyond bodily existence, beyond knowledge and science, there is something else infinitely more lofty which gives life true meaning. This IS HOLINESS. HOLINESS is separation from everything profane; it is the cleansing of the soul from the filth of sin; it is the putting off of vice, which like rust blemishes the INNER MAN. It is also THE ACQUISITION OF THE VIRTUES THROUGH WHICH MAN IS RAISED UP FROM THE LOWLY TO THE SPIRITUAL AND HEAVENLY SO THAT HE APPROACHES THE Cherubim and Seraphim (Archangels), appearing to be some sort of earthly Angel. This is a man at his peak, achieved through THE IMITATION OF THE VIRTUES OF CHRIST WHO IS THE UNRIVALED, UNAPPROACHABLE, AND ETERNAL MODEL OF HOLINESS…

“…Parents bestow life, then, and teachers bestow the good life, but who bestows upon us the life in Christ, life within the sphere of holiness? Who are those instruments by means of which man is white-washed, purified, made radiant?

O, how poor is our vocabulary when it comes to describing the life in Christ which the Holy Scriptures refers to as “NEW BIRTH, REBIRTH, AND A NEW CREATION!” It is the Holy Spirit Who fashions holiness, but the instruments of the Holy Spirit are those whom the holy Apostle Paul describes in his letter to the Ephesians, saying that Christ gave, “SOME, APOSTLES; AND SOME, PROPHETS; AND SOME, EVANGELISTS; AND SOME, PASTORS AND TEACHERS; FOR THE PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS, FOR THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY, FOR THE EDIFYING OF THE BODY OF CHRIST” [Ephesians 4:11-16]. This blessed person is the priest, by whom infants are baptized; by whom marriages are performed; by whom the sins of those who are repentant are remitted; by whom the Holy Gifts are sanctified; by whom the bread and wine are transformed at the Divine Liturgy; by whom our entrance and exit from this world are blessed. He is worthy of reverence on account of his loft service which excels even that offered by the Angels. It is from this perspective that these might be called, FATHER.

In the Orthodox Church, we also call fathers those exceptional figures who shone in the spiritual sky like radiant stars; who shone through their holiness; who shone through their writings; and not a small number of who shone through their miracles and martyric ends.

The Fathers! They loved the Lord with the full flame of their love. Out of desire to attain purity of heart [NOUS], to achieve holiness in the highest degree, to be as close to God as possible, they fled to desolate places, they undertook strict ascetical practices, they fasted, they prayed, they studied the Holy Scriptures. Then after many years of ascetical labour they left their hermitages and came to the cities. With what boldness and daring they rebuked those who oppressed and wronged the people of God! With what wisdom and skill they fought against the heresiarchs, scattering heretical assemblies!

The Fathers! In times of famine and social unrest they were shown to be new Josephs since through their preaching they opened storehouse doors, thereby feeding the hungry, and sheltered widows and orphans. They sold whatever they had–sometimes even the Church’s silver and gold vessels–to ransom captives from the clutches of barbarians.

The Fathers! In times of persecution they did not abandon the people of God to save their own ski, but they remained with the people as defenders and protectors and often met martyric ends as a consequence.

The Fathers! In times OF FEARFUL HERESY THEY SOUNDED LIKE TRUMPETS. They made up the body of Local and Ecumenical Synods (Councils); THEY CONDEMNED HERETICAL MINDSETS; THEY FORMULATED DOGMAS WITH CRYSTALLINE CLARITY; THEY ANATHEMATIZED HERETICS; THEY SECURED THE FLOCK, SAFEGUARDING IT FROM WOLVES.

The Fathers! In life, they are THE CHURCH’S BENEFACTORS, however, they do not cease from benefiting it even after their repose. Then they benefit it by their holy relics which are not only proof that the corruption of time has been overcome, but are also sources of healing. Above all, however, they benefit it through their sacred writings. Having embraced voluntary poverty, it is these which they have bequeathed to the Church as its inheritance.

Proof that the Orthodox Church honors its Holy Fathers may be found in the fact that, apart from the various feasts when Great Fathers and Teachers are celebrated individually, it dedicates three Sundays of the year to the corporate memory of the Holy Fathers, namely the 7th Sunday after Pascha when we celebrate the memory of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, the Sunday falling between the 13th – 19th of July when we celebrate the memory of the Holy Fathers who assembled at the first Six Ecumenical Councils, and the Sunday between the 11th — 17th of October when we celebrate the memory of the Holy Fathers who assembled at the Seventh Ecumenical Council to condemn Iconoclasm. By means of the outstanding hymns that we sing at these services, the Church honors their memory. [Source: Orthodox Heritage]

(To be continued)

______________
“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George